Don't you dare leave me
by swanqueen-vauseman
Summary: Hook learns the truth about what Emma had done in Camelot. But he also found out one very simple confession that could destroy everything as the knew. Emma must know save her family, but especially Regina. Work for SQ Big Bang: Four Letter Words. This is a SQ story.
1. Chapter 1

**For LordSantiago.**

 **Hi there! So this is my contribution to the SQ Big Bang. I just hope you like it.**

 **This is based on the fanart by LordSantiago.**

 **On with the show.**

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"If you cling to the darkness, you have a good reason. And it's beyond temptations, so what is it?" Regina asks as they are both standing over the well. Regina had walked over to it as Emma was apparently having a clearly complicated dilemma with herself.

"I don't know." Emma answered and both of them knew that the blonde was lying. Regina had already told her that, that she can see right through when she is lying. It's kind of how their relationship works; each of them know the other as if they had been best friends for ever and ever, even though the first couple of years consisted practically or trying to kill each other, or at least harm in some way, and fight over Henry. Neverland proved to be a place where they silently agreed to cooperate and from then, a friendship had blossom and for one of them, something even more.

"There's a difference between not knowing something and not wanting to admit it." Regina reasoned; when Regina had approached her, Emma thought it would be good to talk to someone who had known the darkness for decades and knew exactly what was that like. However, she had forgotten that tiny detail that Regina knew exactly when she wasn't being completely sincere.

"Those walls you put up Emma, it's time they come down." Regina said lowering her voice and Emma wondered what was she planning. The brunette pulled up the sleeves of her red dress and took the dagger that was sitting next to Excalibur and the light of Prometheus.

"What are you doing?" Emma asked with eyes wide open, panic and anxiety laced in her voice. Surely Regina wouldn't make her tell her why she was clinging to the darkness. Or would she?

"Helping you break the walls." Regina said and in that moment, she looked every bit of Evil Queen she had once been. "As your friend, I command you Dark One tell me why are you so afraid to give up the darkness?" Regina demanded as she hold the dagger in front of Emma's face, with a glare that it would be hard to say that this wasn't the Evil Queen.

"If I let it go I won't be able to protect my family." Emma says barley above a whisper and the both know it's just half the truth; it's true that Emma has always felt some kind of need to protect her family, and now with this new discovered magic she can't help but thinks it would be better to keep the dark magic despite knowing that this would certainly be a bad idea.

"That's just another wall Emma. Now, the truth." Regina said in a menacing tone. The brunette wouldn't let it go so easily.

"It is. Regina, please." Emma pleaded, because she could only resist the call of the dagger for so long; she didn't want to admit why she was really afraid to give up the darkness. Everything would be the same, if she couldn't love Regina the way she did she had to have something to cling to. Emma knew that nothing would hurt her as much as seeing the pity face she was sure Regina would have if she told her the truth.

"No it's not. You just have to be brave enough to knock down all those walls you're hiding behind." Regina asked her to, and it was the one that threatened the blonde to tell the truth. With Regina, she could be herself, even as the Dark one she was still Emma when she was around Regina. Around her parents and Henry, she had to fulfill the role as the Savior and with Hook… To be honest, she didn't know what Hook expected of her but certainly not this.

Everyone had expectations about her, expectations she wasn't sure she would be able to fulfill.

"The dagger can make you look but you have to choose to see. Now, come on Emma see. Tell me what you're really afraid of."

"I'm afraid of loving you." Emma whispered, her head looking at the groung and she wasn't sure Regina had heard her but by the look on her face, she was pretty sure Regina indeed had heard her. But she was saved by her parents and Hook, when they saw Regina holding the dagger. Only Emma noticed

"Regina, what are you doing?" David asked as she approached Regina, but Regina remained quiet, mouth agape.

Hook took the dagger from Regina. "Regina that's enough." Hook said in an angry voice, who did Regina believe she was? "You alright?" Hook adressed Emma. Emma finally lookes up, but not at Hook but at Regina and glared at her with anger in her eyes.

The blonde took the light of Prometheus and the dagger and walked away, leaving her parents and Hook in confussion over what had happened just before they arrived while leaving Regina with a stuned expression, and Emma knew that she had just ruined the one true friendship she had ever had.

Almost immediately, Snow started arguing with Regina… or at least she tried. "You really think you're helping her by being cruel?" Snow hissed. No one should ever control Emma.

"What?" Regina muttered after she finally got ou of the trance that Emma's confession had put her on.

"I said if you really think you're helping her by being cruel?" Snow repeated and was a bit confussed that Regina seemed not her usual confident self.

After Snow repeated the question, the Charmings and Regina started going back and forth on what was the best way to help Emma get rid of the darkness, while Hook rolled his eyes and started waling towards where Emma was.

"There you are. I've been looking everywhere for you." Hook said after finally finding Emma, she hadn't quite wandered a lot into the woods but she had made several turns so she wasn't at plain sight.

Emma was sitting on a lodge, staring at the flame and the dagger. "Dagger's right here, Regina was going to use it on me why not you?" And Emma knew that the only person she would ever allow to control her was Regina, she trusted her, but she couldn't help muster up the courage to tell Hook that she wasn't in love with him, what Regina had made her confess. Besides, Regina was with Robin and certainly in love, she would never leave him for Emma.

"What she did was wrong. I'm sorry it happened." Hook said.

Emma just shrugged, she knew it had been necessary. "She is right you know? I do know why I'm sacred to let go off the darkness." Emma knew the Charmings and Hook had listened what Regina had demamded of her, and she knew that sooner or later Hook would ask the same thing and she would have to lie to him.

"What are you so afraid Emma?" Hook asked and he sat next to Emma.

"This, our future." Emma answered as she showed him the advertisement she had found earlier with Henry. She wasn't afraid of commitment, she was afraid of living a life she didn't want and feeling like being imprisoned.

"When I told you I loved you back in Storybrooke it was because I thought I would never see you again, it was the same with Neal." Emma said, she lies because the real reason she said 'I love you' was not because of him, it wasn't even directed to him. It was directed to Regina but nobody had to know that.

"Well, it's even worse than I thought it was." Hook muttered, and he knew in that instant that Emma wasn't in love with him and he didn't even know if she would ever be.

"I'm so sorry Hook." Emma whispered, because she knew that he knew. She went to put a hand on top of his shoulder only to get it shvoed off and Hook standing abruptly.

"No, you don't get to tell me that. I've sacrificed everything for you!" Hook exploded. "I traded my ship, I traded the life as I knew it just so I could be you." Emma just stared at him, not knwoing where this version of Hook was cominf from. "We just have to to get you rid of the darkness and then you'll be back. This is just the darkness talking, we're going to have a future together and everything will be okay." Hook started rambling in an angry voice.

"Hook…" Emma whispered.

"Don't you dare. Now, we go back to the dinner and you do whatever you have to do to get rid of the darkness." Hook said and started to walk away, back to where all the others were.

Emma grunted, this had just gone espectacularly. She had no other choice but to follow him back into the dinner, back to where Regina was. God, that's going to be very awkward.

Once at the dinner, everyone were waiting for them; her parents, Regina, Belle, Robin, Merlin, Henry, Granny.

"Are you ready Emma? Are you ready to give up the darkness?" Merlin asked Emma.

"Yes." Emma simply stated and starts using her magic to move the flame into the air, once there she takes both, Excalibur and the dagger and started moving them closer to the flame. If Emma had been looking anywhere other but the flame, she would have seen a proud smile on Regina's face, because she wasn't looking at the flame as everyone else was she was looking at Emma and how far she had come to.

However, once both parts started melting so they could be once again joined, Hook grunted in pain as he fell to the ground.

Everyone's head snapped to look at Hook bleeding through her neck, exactly where Excalibur had grazed him when Arthur had attacked him.

"Hook!" Emma practically screamed; she rushed down to where Hook was lying and tried to heal him with magic but that only made the wound even worse.

"Nothing can heal a wound made from Excalibur, not even your magic Emma." Merlin explained as he saw the conufssion in Emma's face when she noticed that what she was doing was not helping him. She knew that she wasn't in love with him but she couldn't let him die.

"So what? Am I supposed to leave him here to die?" Emma asked, panic laced in her voice.

"Emma, there's nothing you can really do." Regina softly said, trying to make Emma see reason. Internally, she hoped that Emma wouldn't do anything stupid but at the same time, if Hook survived and she saw Emma with him, it would make impossible for her to forget Emma's confession because then it would make it all too real, that Emma was only with the pirate to avoid herself of thinking about Regina.

If Regina was being honest, she knew she was only in love with the idea of Robin; I mean, after he left her for Marian, after not wanting to leave Zelena even after he knew that she wasn't really Zelena, who in their five senses would ever be in love with him? She always knew to some extent that she had been in love with Emma for a long time but she wasn't going to admit, and she was just now being a bypocrite because she had told Emma that there was a difference between not knowing something and not wanitng to admit something.

"You don't get to tell me what I can or can't do. If this was Ribn Hood would ou ever tell me that?" Emma snapped, no longer panic induced but just furious of what Regina was telling her. The brunette was in love with Robin, why would she care if the man that she was supposed to be in love was dying? Even if she wasn't in love, the person she loved would never love her back, she had no right to ask her not to do anything. Anything is better than being helplessly in love who doesn't love you back, right?

Regina lookes at her, surprised at Emma's ourburst and she knew she didn't have a right to say anything. She just looked at Emma pleadingly.

Instead, Emma just poofed herself and Hook, along with Excalibur, away from the dinner and into the meadow Hook had took her just a couple days ago.

She was openly crying, she didn't want to lose Hook, she had lost enough people in her life to add one more to that list.

"Emma, please. Learn to love, don't stop living because of me." Hook said barely above a whisper, he doesn't want to live a life knowing that the woman she loves doesn't love her back but also he doesn't want her to live unhappily ever after.

"Don't ask me that, I can't lose another person in my life." Emma muttered.

"Learn to love." Hook pleaded her, just as he fades away.

"No! No!" Emma screams, and because her mind isn't thinking ratioanlly and because she is stupid as fuck and because she is selfish as fuck, seh taked Excalibur and clings the darkness into Hook, and just like that, Hook has become the new Dark One and Emma finally transitions into the thing she had been fighting against.

Hook watched this from the dreamcatcher Zelena had gave him. And with that knowledge, Hook becomes his worst self.

"You did this to me? You turned me into the thing I despise the most?" Hook asked Emma that stood inmovible in front of him.

"Hook, I'm so sorry." Emma whispers, but she knows that nothing she says will ever make up for what she had done.

"Oh boy, but you haven't seen the best part." Zelena sarcastically adds. "Do you want to know why she could never love you? Why she sacrificed herself for Regina?" Zelena asks, with a mischivious smile in her face. The Wicked Witch couldn't believe that the Saviour was in love with the Evil Queen, she had already know that but seeing the confirmation of such was even better.

"Zelena, please don't do that." Emma says, because she knows that if Hook sees what she had confessed to Regina, Hook will definitely never forgive her and god knwos what he would do.

"Yes." Hooks hisses, as his eyes turned a darkes shade, one that you only see when the darkness had taken over completely.

And Hook watched how Regina forced her to tell her what she was really afraid of, how she at first only told partially the truth and then how just above a whisper, she confessed her love to Regina and stormed away.

He let the dreamcatcher fall and stared directly into Emma's eyes.

"You're going to pay for this." Hook threatened and then he poofed herself into a cloud of black smoke and disappeared.

"Oh gods." Zelena laughs at the irony she's seeing. "This is just going to be worth watching." Zelena says and she as well poofs herself in a cloud of green smoke. "Don't worry dear, the spell will go away in just a few minutes now the good part is going to see what're you going to do."

Emma just let a sob come out. She knew what Zelena was referring to, Hook would make her suffer, he would inflict pain as she had never felt, and the three of them knew that the only way to make Emma hurt like that, was if he was going to hurt Regina.

She couldn't let this happen but for that, she also had to come out clean to her parents, to Henry and to Regina. That's why she had casted the curse, so Regina didn't remember what she had confessed and she hoped she would be able to wait a little longer but fate is not on her side and now, she had to save Regina.

How is she going to do just that?

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 **Please tell me what you think, any reviews/fav/follows are greatly appreciated :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**New chapter! Hope you'll enjoy it.**

 **To the anon, I really don't understand why I shouldn't tag Swan Queen when this is a story about them; if you don't like the way I write, you could stop reading.**

 **To the Guest, I'm not hating on Hook, I'm just writing him as I imagine he would be as the Dark One, so same advise as the anon, stop reading if you don't like the story.**

 **On with the show**

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Emma could feel finally how the spell was wearing off, but with that she also had to face her new reality, being that Hook now knew that she had turn him into the Dark One and there were endless possibilities of what he could know with that knowledge and with his new found magic.

All Emma could know, was that whatever Hook had in store for all of them, was certainly not good.

Also, she had to come clean to her parents and Henry, and that meant having them regained their memories of their time in Camelot but what she dreaded the most was having to tell Regina, once again because one time was certainly not enough suffering for her, that she loved her.

She also would probably have to tell Hood and that was a can of worms she wasn't willing to open just yet. It was bad enough that her love would never be corresponded but if Robin knew that Emma loved Regina with all her being, everything would be just a tad bit more complicated.

She would deal with that later, but first she had to figure out what Hook was planning to do, and the first thing she went to was where the dreamcatchers were; she had made hundreds of them while she was in Camelot and couldn't sleep just as Rumpelstiltskin had done with making gold from scratch during his first years as the Dark One and then as a way to cope with all the crimes he had committed.

But when she got to the little house attached to hers, she discovered that all the dreamcatchers were gone and only one person would know where those dreamcatchers were and that person was Hook.

Emma decided that Hook was an easier fight, maybe she could convince him to not do all that Dark One shit crazy stuff. The blonde poofed herself to the Jolly Roge, where she hoped she would find Hook an talk him out of this. She knew as well that the possibilities of that ever working out were close to or if not zero, but she had to try. Emma knew the man behind the Dark One, she just needed to get through all his walls that the Hook that was still a pirate had built and that now as the Dark One they had resurfaced.

However, if she couldn't do any of this, her first priority would always be her family, including Regina.

"Hook!" Emma yelled as she stepped on board of the Jolly Roger.

She took a few steps forward, keeping an eye around incase Hook decided to appear right behind her,

"Hook!" Emma yelled once again. "I know you're in here." She added.

"Ah Swan, come to try to talk me out of this haven't you?" Hook said as he ppofed in front of Emma.

"Hook, whatever you're planning, you don't have to do it. I know you and you're not this man. You once told that you wanted to redeem yourself, that you wanted to go past the despicable pirate you once were. The Darkness in your head is messing up with you." Emma reasoned with him. It looked as it had worked since the features in Hook's face were softening but his face hardened once again and Emma knew right then that there would be no way to talk him out of whatever he was planning to do.

"You know why I told you that? It wasn't because I really wanted to redeem myself, it wasn't because I wanted to seek the forgiveness of anyone. I only did it." Hook started answering before invading Emma's personal space and stepped too close to her face. "Because I wanted to get you in my bed." Hook hissed.

"You know what is interesting? Your whole personality changed when you became the Dark One; if anyone had known you before you foolishly sacrificed yourself for Regina could clearly distinguish you when you took in the Darkness." Hook said while pacing around and moving his hook in that fashion that was resembling to that of Rumpelstiltskin.

"But when we came back to Storybrooke and even though our memories were gone, the Darkness was still inside me. So, the way I see it, this has always been me. The bloody pirate, the new Dark One and now the one that is going to make you suffer, the one that is going to hurt you like you hurt me." Hook continued and Emma couldn't help the few tears that decided to escape her eyes.

"You were just a pretty blonde distraction for the time being, but now I'm seeing it all in a whole ne light. You would have never loved me, that's why none of our kisses worked to keep you out of the darkness. I thought you were my True Love but your heart will always love Regina, knowing that she'll never love you back."

"Hook, stop." Emma whispered.

"No! You made me this way, and now is time for you to know what is like real suffering and pain. You know that Regina will never love you back, don't you? Do you want to know why she'll never be able to love someone like you?" Hook asked.

All Emma could do was shake her head, because she knew that whatever Hook was going to say, would go straight into her mind, as if he was telling the truth. And to be honest, maybe he was.

"Because you are just an orphan who can't offer anything to Regina. Robin Hood will always be better for her; did you ever think that Regina would choose a man that is her soulmate for you? A worthless, good for nothing, replaceable orphan that not even her first family wanted her? You know you're not good enough for her." Hook said and Emma tried to reason with her mind that was he was telling her was not true.

That she has a family that wants her, she has a son that loves her but the Darkness was also playing its part on not allowing herself to believe that. Emma couldn't help the heart wrecking sob that came out of her mouth; maybe he was right, maybe she wouldn't be good enough for anyone.

"Now that you know that you are not good at anything, not even at keeping your family safe. I'm going to tell you my plan." Hook started explaining. "I'm going to take out all the light that exists here, everything will belong to the darkness. Bur before, I'm going to make you all suffer, each person that had ever mattered to you, will suffer."

"Please don't kill any of them." Emma muttered, being the Dark One had one privilege that had a double edge. One being that nobody could kill her but the other one being that the only way to make her feel any pain was to kill ant that she had ever loved.

Hook laughed. "Oh no, Swan. I'm not going to kill any of them, just make them suffer." Hook said but then he saw a spark of relief that went through Emma's eyes. That relief could become into hope and that hope could make her find the motivation to go against him. No, he couldn't allow that to happen.

"On the other hand, there is one person I will kill. Just for the sole purpose of seeing how you suffer. Of course, not before she suffers." And then Hook disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Regina. Emma thought and she could not allow Hook to kill Regina. She'd have to find a way to save Regina.

But first, she needed to tell everyone what had happened in Camelot so they at least could have a word in advance to what Hook was going to do. Maybe she couldn't prevent this but at least, she would try to protect her family as much as she could and if that meant to come out clean to Regina, then she would do it.

She poofed just outside Regina's house, right on the porch and rang the doorbell. If she wanted, she could have poofed inside Regina's house one because she didn't want to scare the brunette and two, because she knew the chanced of Regina helping her were pretty slim.

Emma waited for what felt like an eternity until Regina opened the door.

"What do you want Miss Swan?" Regina asked in her mayoral tone. One she hadn't heard since she first came to Storybrooke.

"Don't you 'Miss Swan" me Regina, we've been through much." Emma answered.

"Well, start acting again like Emma and we'll talk." Regina sassed.

Instead of retorting with an equal sarcastic answer, Emma bowed her hair. She knew deep down that what she had done, the Emma that sacrificed herself for Regina would never have done it. She furrowed her brow, she might never regain her friendship with Regina and Regina loving her was out of the question. She quickly tried to harden her feature as every Dark One should do but Regina noticed the quick change of emotions across Emma's face.

"What's going on?" Regina asked cautiously.

"I need your help Regina." Emma replied.

"Now you're asking for help? Why couldn't you ask for help in Camelot and we could have avoided this whole situation?" Regina deadpanned.

"That's exactly why I am asking for help." Emma said. "Do you want to know what happened in Camelot? Do you want to know what's happening as we speak? Then you need to help me with something." Emma explained.

"And what is this 'something' you're talking about?" Regina crossed her arms; she wouldn't fall too easily for whatever Emma needed help for.

"It has to do with something I told you in Camelot and something I did after I told you that." Emma took a deep breath. "I'm willing to give all of you back your memories, but I need the dreamcatchers for that to happen."

"So, what are we waiting?" Regina started to move out and close the door but Emma bloke her way.

"They're in Hook's ship." Emma blurted out.

"What do you mean that they're in Hook's ship? Can't you go to the handless wonder and ask him for them?" Regina wondered.

"It's more complicated than that." Emma shuffled her weight from each foot, uncharacteristically even for her.

"What aren't you telling me Swan?" Regina glared at her.

Emma slightly winced at that name, Hook used to call her that. But not like Regina, he didn't use it when he was angry at her or when they both knew Emma was doing something stupid; when it came from Regina, it meant that she knew that Emma was hiding something but she would help anyways, coming from Hook it just sounded offensice.

"It'll all be a lot clear once you help me get the dreamcatchers." Emma tried to avoid the question.

Regina narrowed her eyes, both of them knew that whatever Emma wasn't telling Regina would have a great impact on their relationship and the plan they would have to make in order to go against Hook, or whatever Regina thought that was behind this.

"Okay, let's go get these dreamcatchers and get finished with this craziness." Regina said with confidence and she engulfed them with a cloud of smoke.

When the cloud dissipated, they were standing on the ship, grateful that Hook wasn't there. The moved around the ship until they came to a little room downstairs where all the dreamcatchers hanged from the ceiling. Emma was about to grab them when Regina stopped her.

"Wait, there's a protection spell around them." Regina said while viewing the spell.

Emma tried to use her magic but discovered that her magic didn't work.

"Why is it not working?" Emma cried desperate.

"Hook must have put a spell against your magic. But it's very powerful magic, how come Hook came across this type of magic?" Regina wondered and she knew that the blonde had the answers for it.

"Can you use your magic?" Emma asked.

"Yes, I believe I can." Regina said, while rolling up her sleeves and pointing her hands towards the dreamcatchers; at first nothing happened but then the spell disappeared.

They conjured the dreamcatcher to the Mayor's office, where they would reunite everyone so Emma could give back their memories.

"Well, now let's just get the word to the others." Regina said.

Once the Charmings, Henry, Robin, Belle, Regina and Emma were reunited at the Mayor's office, Emma tried to explain what they were doing here.

"I'm going to give back your memories. I know that what you will see will come out as a shock, but hopefully after seeing that we can all work together." Emma started explaining.

Emma took a deep breath because Regina would relive once again her confession; foolishly, she had a little bit of hope that the outcome of the confession wouldn't be as bad as it had been the first time, however she knew that that possibility was practically non existent.

"And Regina, I'm so sorry." Her voice started breaking, trying to keep a few tears that were threatening to fall away. "I'm just… I'm so sorry."

Emma finished and she moved her hand to allow the dreamcatchers to do their job. She watched as her parents, Henry, Robin, Belle and Regina ran through a series of different emotions; however, her only focus was Regina.

After the stream of memories ended, Regina looked at Emma with mouth wide open and eyes filling with tears.

"Emma?"

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 **I would really like to hear what you think guys, so don't forget to review. Thank you for reading :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello! Here's a new chapter. Thank you so much for the response.**

 **All mistakes are mine.**

 **On with the show.**

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" _Emma?"_ Regina whispered.

"Please don't." Emma whispered as well. She closed her eyes, unable to stop the tears that were running down her cheeks.

She thought the first time had been hurtful, the second time was even worse. She thought she would be able to let it go, to go on with her life as if she hadn't told her but she couldn't. Her heart belonged to the woman that was once the Evil Queen, the woman that is Henry's other mother, that is this super badass Mayor and that is Regina.

"What? What's going on?" Robin asked as she saw Regina looking at Emma with unshed tears. Thankfully, the only person that day at the well had been Regina and there hadn't been any more witnesses to that confession.

"Nothing." Regina deadpanned and Emma thought nothing could sting more than that word.

Unconsciously, she winced and of course the person to notice that had to be Mary Margaret and she just looked curiously at Emma, but before she could question her daughter there were more important affairs to get done with before going into this whole debacle of with whom her daughter had fallen in love.

"So, what you're telling us is that Hook is actually the Dark One and that he is going to make our lived a living hell?" David ask, pausing at certain times as he said the phrase as if all of this wasn't happening.

"Yes, basically." Emma replied and bowed her head, ashamed of what she had done and that now, most probably, her family would hate her.

"Okay then, so how do we fix this?" Mary Margaret asked, hopefulness laced in her voice; not only because she was hopeful that they would be able to save everyone as they had done for years but she also was referring to the fact that Regina did love Emma but hadn't realized yet or maybe she was just in denial.

"That's the point, besides of what I know what Hook is planning to do there's no much we can do. There's no way to kill the Dark One without tethering the darkness to another person." Emma sighed, she really didn't know what to do. Even though she was still the Dark One and had more magic than she could ever imagined, she was at a loss on what to do next.

"And what is exactly in he planning to do?" Regina questioned her, apparently regaining her voice after that awkward and hurtful moment.

"He's is going to make you all suffer, just because he wants to hurt me the same way I hurt him when I turned him into the Dark One. And…" Emma didn't finish the phrase, he couldn't tell Regina that Hook was planning on killing her. Besides, Henry was right next to her and how could she tell him that her mother was going to fight for her life or in this case Emma would fight for Regina's life, just as she had always done since that fire when they were only the Sheriff and the Mayor, no fairytale characters involved and certainly not curses to break.

"And what Emma?" Regina glared at her.

Emma took a deep breath. "He's planning on killing you Regina."

"What? No! I won't allow that." Robin shrieked.

"Robin, shut up." Regina hissed and everyone looked in confusion, they had never heard Regina address Robin with that tone.

"I mean… You can't risk your life. You have Roland to think about." Regina muttered, after realizing that the tone she had used was definitely not a tone that a person would use with her supposed soul mate.

"Ma… you won't allow that, will you?" Henry whispered with tears in his eyes which only helped Emma to let out all those tears a little bit easier.

"No, Henry. I won't allow Hook to kill your mom." Emma said with determinations in her voice.

"Miss Swan, you can't actually promise that." Regina said, but it lacked its usual malice, it was said as if she knew that her fate was already sealed. "No one can compete against the Dark One.

"Back to Miss Swan." Emma muttered. "You forget Regina, that I'm also the Dark One and I can and I will promise that you won't get killed." Emma promised. She had broken a lot of promises in her life but this one, this one she wouldn't let anyone to make her break that promise. Not even Hook.

All this time, Mary Margaret had been watching these two women going back and forth between their promises and thy way their eyes spoke even if nothing was being said.

Emma's eyes said 'I will protect you and I will keep you safe, even if it means that I'm getting killed because I love you' while Regina's eyes said something resembling 'You're an idiot if you think I'm going to allow that. I can't live without you.'

Mary Margaret had suspected a long time ago that whatever her daughter and her former nemesis had, was closer to being more than friends but none of them was ready to admit that the relationship that had been developing ever since Emma strode into Storybrooke was something neither of them expected it to become.

But something had changed in these few minutes since Emma gave them all their memories, because before Regina remembered whatever had happened in Camelot that they were not present she had been making all these dopey loving eyes towards Robin and suddenly, the brunette treated him as if she couldn't care less what happens to him.

"Emma, do you know anything else? What's Hook's ultimate plan or whatever?" David asked; he had been a king and also a leader of the army and he knew that they had to have a plan if they wanted to fight against Hook and ultimately win.

"No and I wish I could tell you more. But Hook didn't share that much information with me." Emma shrugged. She felt utterly useless and guilt that was more than a person needed in a lifetime, flew through her system.

"Emma, this is not your fault." Regina said. _Damn it Regina,_ Emma thought for herself. Regina had always been able to read her, just as she could with the brunette in exchange. Neither of them knew when this happened but it was nice to have someone that could understand them without a word being said.

"But it is Regina. If I hadn't been that selfish, if I had honored Hook's wish none of us would be in this chaos." Emma raised her voice. _If I hadn't told him that I wasn't in love with him, none of this would have happened._ Emma added in her mind.

"Maybe, but now that we are we must figure out what Hook is planning. We must be prepared as much as possible." Regina said calmly.

"I suppose Hook will want to get the hang of Excalibur, it's like his dagger. The only thing we have to figure out all the things he could use that for." Belle said for the first time since they were there.

"Are you aware that there are at least a million things he could do?" Regina asked and glared at Belle. "And how, may I ask, are we suppose to be prepared for that million possibilities" Regina said and crossed her arms.

"Oh love, don't kill yourself over that. Overthinking will not do you any good." Hook appeared out of thin air and made everyone gasp except for Emma and Regina.

"I assume that everyone knows what happened in Camelot? And that all I intend to do is hurt Emma but…" Hook pauses and clicked his tongue. "there may be some collateral damage, including you your majesty."

"Don't you dare touch her." Robin said as he stood in front of Regina. As if that could protect her from Hook. Regina couldn't help but roll her eyes. Since when did Robin put her first? Certainly not when he discovered that Marian wasn't really Marian but Zelena.

"Oh Swan, don't tell me you haven't told them yet? The real reason that ended in you turning me into the Dark One." Hook snickered and turned to Emma.

Emma just stood her ground as defiantly as she could, but inside she was terrified that Hook would reveal her secret to everyone in the room.

"Oh well, this is just going to be even more fun. So, since at the end of the day nothing will stop me, I suppose I could tell you what I'll do. I'm going to take all the light that exists in this world and the only thing left will be the darkness. Of course, not before each and every one of you suffers." He pointed towards each of them but Emma. "Just for the pleasure of watching Swan here suffer. And after that, you know the thing that would hurt Emma the most? Killing Regina, because why not?" Hook said. "And, before I leave, a piece of advice, I hope you don't have many monsters living in your heads." And with that final word, he disappeared into a cloud of smoke.

"What did he mean?" Mary Margaret asked stunned. "What was all of that 'monsters in your heads'?"

"It means…" Regina said slowly. "That he is going to make us suffer through our biggest fears, our biggest regrets, anything that he can use against us." Regina bowed her head.

Emma was definitely worried about her parents because the thing they had done with her and Lily would haunt them for the end of their days; she was not so preoccupied with Henry, but she knew that his biggest regret was ever doubting that Regina didn't love him but it was nothing compared to what Regina would go through. Regina would not only be likely to suffer from all she had done as the Evil Queen but also from the abuse from Cora and the manipulation from Rumplestiltskin.

If she didn't feel completely useless before, she was feeling it right now. No one should ever go through that twice in their lives, specially Regina who had gone through too much to prove to everyone that she had changed.

"Are we going to do something?" Henry asked.

"I'm afraid Henry there's not much we can do right now." Regina replied, trying to blink a few tears away.

"Maybe we can do some research, see if we find something that will help us." Henry suggested.

"That's a very good idea Henry. Let's go to the library to see if we find something." Mary Margaret said.

"I'll go with you." Belle added. "I know the library like the palm of my hand."

Belle, Henry and David started to walk towards the library before he noticed that Mary Margaret, Emma, Regina and Robin were actually not moving.

"Mary Margaret? Come on." David said.

"I'll catch up with you guys in a minute." Mary Margaret muttered. She needed to talk to Emma about what she knew her daughter felt for Regina.

"I need to talk in private with Robin. I'll see if there's anything in my mother's books." Regina said indifferently as she knew that Emma would question her why was not going anywhere.

David shrugged and moved along and Emma as well, but before she could follow her father any further Mary Margaret dragged her into an empty corridor.

"What happened between you and Regina?" Mary Margaret questioned her, she only confirmed even more her theory that both women wanted to be something more than co-parents with Regina wanting to speak with Robin right away.

"N-Nothing." Emma stuttered.

"Don't you lie to me Emma. I may have not been your mother that long but I know when you're lying specially if your feelings are involved. So, are you going to tell me now?" Mary Margaret said and it was the first time Emma had heard her use that tone that said that there was no room for bullshitting her answer.

Emma stayed silent; she was debating with herself whether or not to tell her mom about her confession in Camelot; Mary Margaret was almost completely sure what had happened in Camelot, in didn't take a genius to connect the dots and she seemed to sense the struggle that was going on inside Emma's mind.

"Emma you're my daughter and I love you so very much. There's nothing you could tell me that would change that." Mary Margaret said soothingly.

Emma decided that Mary Margret would found out sooner or later, and maybe now was a good time before everything went to straight to hell. She took a deep breath. "I confessed to Regina something in Camelot." Emma sighed. "I told her…" Emma paused. "I told her that I was in love her. Are you happy now?" Emma admitted with her head down. "And earlier when I gave you all back your memories, Regina saw that confession for a second time and it hurt so much." Emma couldn't hold back the tears and the sobs that came when she said out loud how much it had hurt her, even though she already knew that Regina was not hers to love.

"You had hoped that it would be different this time." Mary Margaret realized and stroked Emma's arms to comfort her. In that moment, Emma was not the Dark One, she was this little girl that had been let down too many times in her life and that the only thing she could ever hope for was rejection.

"I knew it was stupid to have that kind of hope. She has Robin, who is her soul mate. She deserved someone better than me." Emma's voice broke with that last phrase.

Before Mary Margaret said anything, Regina appeared from around the corner and Regina and Emma made eye contact, Emma quickly turned around so she could wipe out the tears, hoping Regina hadn't seen her.

"I have to go." Regina muttered, and Mary Margaret wondered why Robin was not with her. Maybe she had told him that she could not be with him, whatever her reason were. Even if she hadn't told him that he was not the person she loved, Regina was only starting to admit it to herself and it would take a little longer for her to admit to Emma.

"Where are you going?" Mary Margaret asked.

"It's none of your business." Regina declared and walked away.

Emma seemed to have recovered, and now she had a determined look in her face. She moved away from her mother's embrace started to walk towards the door.

"And you, where are you going?"

"To save Regina."

* * *

 **I hope you liked this chapter. Thank you for reading, please don't forget to review. :)**


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